Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Good evening, everybody. I'm Yasmin Vesugian in for Tom Yamis. We begin tonight with that breaking news out of Washington. The president announcing Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on phase one of a peace deal. Trump, writing on his social media platform, I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of our peace plan. This means that all of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their troops. to an agreed-upon line as the first steps towards a strong, durable, and everlasting peace. All parties will be treated fairly. The announcement coming just hours after this stunning moment at the White House, President Trump handed a note at an event on live television by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Moments later, Rubio whispering something in the president's ear. An AP photographer snapping this photo as the note was handed to Trump, if we rotate the frame on its side, you can clearly read the handwriting. quote, we need you to approve a true social post soon so you can announce deal first. The president then saying this to reporters. Yeah, I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we're very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they'll get a need me pretty quickly, so I will take a couple of more questions. This is also coming after days of intense negotiations in Egypt, Israel, and Hamas, both at the table. talking over President Trump's 20-point peace plan to end two years of war in the Gaza Strip.

Joining us now is Colonel Steve Warren. He is a former principal deputy chief of public affairs at the Pentagon. Colonel, thanks for joining us on this. Appreciate it. Talk about the unprecedented nature of striking phase one of this peace deal, what it could feasibly mean for the region, both the future of the safety and security of Israelis and Palestinians. Yeah, it's thanks, yes. I mean, it's got far-reaching implications.

If indeed this deal can hold, it'll bring in an era of peace that we haven't seen now in the Middle East for several years, ever since that terrible attack on October 7th. So what this really means is that if the hostages can be returned to Israel, the prisoners can be returned to Gaza, And then finally, the Israeli forces are able to withdraw to a pre-established line. We will finally begin to see the first steps of Middle East peace. We've seen two ceasefires before this. One was 50 days after the initial attack on October 7th.

The second was back in January of this year, both of which did obviously not reach finality and war then ensued once again. What do you think is different possibly about this time? Well, the first thing that's different is the, frankly, the way it's being talked about. This isn't really a ceasefire. They, you know, from whether it's the president, the Qataris, the Israelis are talking about this as a deal, a peace deal. So I think that's number one. It has a different feel to it overall.

We do have to keep in mind that, you know, in the first two times, sometimes there's difficulty. We know Hamas leadership and Hamas fighters aren't necessarily. joined. They're not talking to each other well. Often the Hamas fighters are operating without guidance from any of their leadership and sort of going rogue. I believe this will be reduced this time around simply because, frankly, there are fewer Hamas leaders and fewer Hamas fighters. What do you think about the stability of this thing? We know this is an incredibly precarious situation. Some of the Hamas negotiators that were at the table in Egypt reportedly also the ones that were targeted in Qatar when Israel dropped bombs there.

So when you think about how precarious the situation is, this just lends itself to that. Yes, mean, there are rivers of bad blood between these two sides. So it is precarious. It will remain precarious. That said, the populations of both sides, the Israeli citizens, the Palestinians in Gaza, appear to be growing weary of war. And so that puts a lot of pressure on the leaders of both sides to come to an agreement. Colonel, if you would, stand by for me.

I want to bring in NBC News, Chief Foreign Correspondent, Richard Engel, who's standing by for us in Jerusalem as well. Richard, you and I've been talking over the last couple of weeks, months really, about this ongoing situation. There are 67,000 people have died in Gaza as of yesterday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. 1,200 people were killed in Israel. On October 7th, I spoke to Keith Siegel, who was taken hostage from Israel, held captive for warned in 84 days.

This is certainly an unprecedented moment, the possibility of potential peace, phase one, of this deal. What are you hearing from your sources? So the Qataris have confirmed it. President Trump announced it on truth, social. Hamas has come out with a statement, so nobody is denying that this deal is going ahead. If you remember just a few days ago, President Trump and Prime Minister in Yahoo announced this deal.

They announced it in Washington, but they announced that Hamas and Israel had accepted President Trump's 20-point peace plan in principle. So we already had that. But then the details needed to be worked out. And what we just saw a few moments ago was, after intense negotiations in Egypt, that Hamas and Israel have agreed to implement that 20-point point. plan. And the first point on this is that Hamas hands over the hostages that it is still holding. Hamas has said that it will hand over, it will start handing over, the 20 living hostages,

that it might take more time to find the bodies, the remains of some of the others who died in captivity, presumably because they've been buried under rubble. But that handover could happen quite quickly. And then simultaneous to that handover, Israel pulls its forces back. of these would open the door for stage two and three and four, more sophisticated parts of these negotiations, talking about what happens next in Gaza, the reconstruction, what happens to Hamas. Hamas has agreed that it won't be in power who takes over. All of those are still open questions, but once the peace plan is starting to be initiated and starts to be carried out, then the hope is that it continues and it leads to a, not a ceasefire, but a more

lasting peace and the reconstruction of Gaza and a new chapter after two years that have been devastating for Israel and an absolute horror for the people of Gaza. Do we know if these negotiations are going to be ongoing throughout phase one, Richard, or is it phase one? They get through it. They have the hostages come back home to Israel, forces begin to pull out of Gaza, and then they come back to the table, which is normally how it's done? Right now, there is a very high-level meeting taking place in Sharmal Sheik with Steve Whitkoff there,

Jared Kushner from the U.S. side, the Prime Minister of Qatar, the head of Turkish intelligence. It is very unlikely that they are all going to stay in Egypt throughout this entire process. President Trump has said that he might come to the Middle East this weekend. We will see ongoing negotiations over the next several days, but after that, I think they will continue negotiations if and when they come up. And they will undoubtedly, Yasmin, be problems. They will undoubtedly be accusations of violations, undoubtedly be problems in the implementation of this deal. So it is not the end, but it is potentially the beginning of a process. but a process that is, we'll be welcomed here. It's the middle of the night in Israel,

so we're not getting any public reaction yet. But Israelis were holding vigils yesterday on the day of the two-year anniversary, supporting this peace plan, and the people of Gaza have overwhelmingly come out and said that they want an end to the war. They want a peace plan. So we're going to see positive reactions

from both Israelis and the Palestinians when the sun comes up here shortly. Richard Engel, thank you, Colonel Steve Warren, and thank you as well. I want to go to the White House now to Gabe Gutierrez, who is live for us tonight from the North Lawn there. Gabe, what more are you learning from the White House about the specifics of this phase one deal? Yasmin, what we just heard from the president a short time ago, as you've been reporting, and we're pressing White House officials for more details about what this phase one actually means and where we go from here. But I heard you're just speaking with Richard about the possibility of President Trump heading to the Middle East this weekend.

And he announced that earlier today, and Yasmin, I was in the room here at the White House when he was at an event that had been going on for more than an hour in that dramatic moment that you've no doubt been discussing where Secretary of State Marco Rubio came in, surprising reporters in the room and then went over to the president handing him that note saying that he needed approval for that true social post so that he can announce a deal first. Now, clearly, the president has been wanting to announce this deal for quite some time. was very important to him clearly to announce it before either the Israelis or Hamas. We have just now received confirmation from the Qataris, but it was President Trump who came out with that true social post first. At the end of it, he quoted scripture even saying, Blessed are the peacemakers. So it's definitely very significant for the president to be able to make this announcement in Yasmin. This comes just days after the president hosted Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu here at the White House. I was there as the president announced that

20-point peace plan, that at the time, there were many questions about whether Hamas would actually go along with it. There were many leaders from the Middle East and from the Arab world that did throw their support behind that peace deal, but there were very many questions about whether Hamas would go along. As you've been discussing with Richard, though, there are questions about how this moves forward from here, whether there might be accusations of violating this ceasefire, but still extremely significant that two years into this war, we now have some sort of an agreement to reach those hostages. Now, we are awaiting any new word from the White House. We have yet to receive it. But again, the president expecting to go to the Middle East,

potentially leaving Saturday, arriving there Sunday, perhaps going to Egypt. But again, these details are still very fluid, just moments after this peace deal. The first phase of it anyway, were just announced, yes. You mentioned the president feasibly possibly going to the Middle East and reminding folks, of course that this deal was initially struck in Washington between the President and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his visit to D.C. in the White House there. The Prime Minister posting on next as well, quote, with God's help, we will bring them all home. When you talk about this potential trip, do you know exactly where the President may be going, who he'll be meeting with, how involved he'll be in any ongoing talks? Well, certainly the President has been very involved in these talks, at least in the higher level negotiations. His envoy, Steve Whitkoff. has been discussing with these mediators. Secretary of State Marker Rubio, very involved as well. Again, the president did indicate that he might be heading to Egypt. There was a reporter who asked him whether he'd be going after the hostages were released or before the hostages would be relieved.

He was non-committal on that, saying it could be before or after or very slightly before. Either way, though, the president does seem eager to not only go and sign this peace deal, but also just he does want some credit for this. It was the president who has repeatedly said that he has been able to get Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu here to the table. You'll remember that just last week, Yasmin, Benjamin Netanyahu, actually apologized for that strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar. And the president essentially taking credit for that and saying we got to this point because of him bringing those to the table. So we'll see in the coming days how his trip shapes up, Gassad. Gabe Gutierrez, thank you.

And again, if you are just joining us, the president announcing on True Social, we have reached a deal with phase one of a peace deal between Israel and Gaza. And we'll continue to follow any updates on this story. I want to get to other major headlines tonight. Officials announcing an arrest and the deadly fire that consumed much of the Pacific Palisades just nine months ago. a day's long fire ripping through the community in Los Angeles, costing 12 people there alive and destroying nearly 7,000 structures. Prosecutors now saying it was this man, 29-year-old Jonathan Rindernacht, who drove into the palisades on New Year's Eve, allegedly setting a fire that was initially suppressed, but reignited about a week later

and scorched the palisades. Our Liz Kreutz has the latest from the place where the blaze began. tonight nine months and one day since the start of the palisades fire federal authorities arresting 29-year-old jonathan rendernecked charging him with arson for allegedly setting the deadly blaze we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intentionally started this fire and maliciously after what officials describe as a painstaking months-long investigation authorities now determining the palisades fire stem from the lachman fire which they say rendernecks started during the early hours of new year's day And it smoldered underground for about a week until on January 7th, heavy winds caused this underground fire to surface and spread above ground, causing what became known as the Palisades fire. According to the criminal complaint, Rendernet was driving for Uber on New Year's Eve. His last two passengers allegedly described him as appearing agitated and angry. After his last ride ended at 11.34 p.m. in the Pacific Palisades, authorities say he then drove. alone to the nearby Skull Rock Trailhead and hiked up the trail. About 30 minutes later, right around here is where investigators say the fire started likely

from a lighter. They say Renderneck then tried calling 911 multiple times, but couldn't get through possibly because of cell signal. Investigators not yet revealing an alleged motive, but pointing to these chilling AI images he asked chat GPT to create. The defendant's chat GPT prompt of a dystopian painting showing in part a burning forward. A burning forward. forest and a crowd fleeing from it. Tonight, fire victims reacting outraged. It is mind-boggling to think that somebody would actually think about burning down a city. I want him to know how much people are suffering, how much suffering he caused.

And Liz Kroitz is joining us now from the Pacific Palisades. Liz, it's been roughly nine months since those Palisades fires ignited. What is the situation there now? Well, Yasmin, Rebuilding is definitely underway. You can see this home behind me is already starting to be rebuilt, although I am looking at some empty plots here. So that is good, but there's still a long road ahead. There's been about 700 or a little more than 700 permits issued so far in the Pacific Palisades in Malibu for about 400 addresses. So when you think about that, that is just a fraction of the thousands of homes that have burned. As for the suspect, he did appear in court today. He's expected back in court tomorrow. He is not yet entered a plea.

His attorney is also not commented. And if he's convicted, he faces decades in prison. Yasman. All right. Thank you to Liz Kreutz. Want to get now to the latest on President Trump's immigration crackdown as his administration targets major cities across the country, protests growing in Chicago as hundreds of National Guard troops are waiting to be deployed there. NBC, Shaq Brewster joins us now live from a protest in downtown Chicago. Shaq 500 troops have just arrived in the city. Walk us through what you're seeing behind you.

Yeah, right now you're seeing protest, Yasmin. I'll let you turn to take a look at some of the signs and the people that we're seeing here. This was a protest that was called yesterday. It was an emergency demonstration and direct response to the National Guard being deployed here in the city of Chicago. Now, to be clear, we do not have any sightings of the guard in terms of being in front of buildings,

in front of any places at this point. However, and you hear some of the chance, we're not ICE, we do know that their mission will be to support some of those immigration enforcement that we've been seeing throughout the Chicago area. We know that many of the people here, I've been talking to them, having conversations with them. They're saying, one, they don't think that there's anything that necessitates that requires the National Guard to come to this city.

There's no violence that they see, no ongoing protests or threats, but they also don't support the immigration raids that you're seeing in the city of Chicago. So that is the scene you're seeing right now. The governor earlier today said that he has been pretty much kept out of the loop. He does not know when the guard will be deployed, where they will be stationed once they start getting in position, once they're done with training and processing. But it's something that we're definitely going to be watching, Gassman. Chuck Brewster. Thank you. Next tonight, to the startling threat against members of the Supreme Court, a man arrested

outside of a church that some of the justices were expected to attend. Police say he had 200 homemade explosives, including bottle rockets and Molotov cocktails, in a tent on the church steps. I want to bring in NBC's Ryan Noble's latest from Washington. Ryan, what more can you tell us about how this arrest unfolded and what the suspect, in fact, told police? Yeah, Yasmin, the details are pretty stunning. Police said that the suspect named Lewis Gary had a tent set up

outside of the historic St. Matthew, the Apostle Church in Washington, D.C. And it was on the day of the annual Red Mass, which is a Catholic service designed to bless members of the Supreme Court at the start of their turn. They were going to clear out the area to prepare for the Supreme Court justices to arrive, and they discovered more than 200 explosive devices like Molotov cocktails and bottle rockets in the tent. Now, according to the rest report, Gary threatened to light the explosives and toss them at the officers. Authorities then say they found a notebook there where he was filled with all kinds of writing, expressing hatred against the Catholic Church,

Supreme Court justices and ICE officers. After the arrest, they told the Supreme Court justices not to come to the event. This is something they come to every year. They did not come as a security precaution. Meanwhile, Lewis, Gary, he was arrested. He is being held without bond, and he's been charged with two different counts as a result of this incident. Yes, ma'am. Right, Nobles. Thank you. Over to Virginia today, former FBI director James Comey, pleading not guilty to federal charges over allegations. He lied to Congress back in 2020. His legal team arguing the prosecution is selective and vindictive. Want to get right to Kelly O'Donnell outside the courthouse and Alexandria, Virginia Kelly. Comey's legal team,

taking a really aggressive approach here. Walk us for the case they're planning to make. Well, two things really stand out about what happened in court today. The timeline is going to be fast with a trial date set for January 5th. And Comey's team hopes they don't even get to trial. They are going to try to aggressively argue for dismissal of these charges, making a false statement, obstructing Congress by saying that the government's conduct here in bringing this prosecution against the former FBI director is vindictive and selective. They are going to argue that there was outrageous conduct on behalf of the government. They're also going to challenge the appointment of a woman named Lindsay Halligan, who has recently been working in the White House as an aide to the president, formerly a private attorney for him when he, He was out of office as a private citizen, and her background is insurance law. She is now the acting U.S. attorney here in the Eastern District of Virginia and was put in that role after a career prosecutor was fired.

So all of those sorts of factors as well as the background, even background noise, you might argue, of the president frequently talking about wanting to bring about investigations against those he sees are his enemies, and he would put James Comey in that case. category. Comey has been a critic of President Trump, and President Trump has been a fierce critic of Comey's. Now, all of this being said, the Attorney General has indicated that she thinks the process so far has been fair, and she said that it was a grand jury in this district that she called a liberal grand jury actually heard the evidence and came back with the indictment. So, aggressive move to throw out the charges, a quick timeline, and James Comey will have, Over the next few months, a number of dates in court as this process unfold. Yasmin?

Tell you, Donald. Thank you. We are back in a moment with a deadly road rage shooting in Houston, leaving at least four people dead. What we're learning from investigators tonight. Plus, the scary car crash involving rock legend Gene Simmons, the latest on his condition, and a deputy and a teenager jumping into action after a five-year-old got trapped in a lake, the dramatic rescue. That's straight ahead.

Welcome back. We are back with this incredible story out of Texas, where an older sister was quick-thinking saved her little brother's life. The dramatic life and death moment captured on video. NBC's George Solis has the story. It happened in the blink of an eye. Playtime for two Texas children taking a dramatic turn when this young boy began to choke. In a moment where panic could prevail. 10-year-old Leah kept calm with her 7-year-old little brother Logan in distress and took immediate life-saving action. Are you okay? It was a hard watch.

As much as it hurts my heart to watch, gosh, I'm just so proud of her. Watch again as the duo bounces on a trampoline in their backyard, playing a game that involved putting a small piece of sour candy in their mouths. Logan bounces and falls over. He gets up, but the second time, it's clear something is wrong. Logan gestures and places his hand around his throat. Leah immediately begins to pat his back and then begins to perform abdominal thrust, formerly known as the Heimlich maneuver, restoring her brother's airway and saving his life. Logan has swore he will never be on the trampoline with a piece of candy again.

Leah learning the skills from her mom, Heather James, an employee of the Levant Police Department Special Programs Division, that teaches a course on the importance of choking rescue techniques. James says even though Leah was too young to participate in the class, she absorbed the skills. How grateful are you now that she retained that information? I can't put into words. I'm so proud of my kid. And I truly, I don't know how to say it any other way.

I'm just, I'm so proud of my kid. James says she was in their kitchen when everything went down. And Leah immediately raced over to let her know what had happened. I can go get mom. She's always been an exceptional kid. She is one of those kids that she's just so mature for her age. A moment that could have ended in tragedy. Now a reminder that age is no barrier when it comes to being a hero.

My only message to any other moms or dads or anyone responsible for a child out there is not to underestimate them because of their age. Logan has been showering his sister with love, the experience bringing the pair closer together. Lawn's police chief says Leah will be recognized with a special honor next month for her quick thinking and courage. Back to you. Certainly sibling love and courage there. Still to come on top story, police tracking down the last. escaped inmate from that wild New Orleans jail break. We're going to show you the moment he was taken into custody.

Now the top story's news feed, and we begin with breaking news out of Texas. Multiple people are dead after a shooting spree across multiple locations. Police say it started as a road rage incident outside of Houston, a gunman opening fire on a female driver killing her and fleeing the scene. He then allegedly drove further into the city, killing two more people at a second location before turning the gun on himself. The investigation into what happened is ongoing. And an update on that months-long manhunt after 10 inmates escaped in New Orleans jail, the final escape be captured today. Here's Derek Groves getting handcuffed moments after being caught.

He gives the camera a kiss before climbing in the police cruiser. Groves has been on the run for nearly five months in what has become one of Louisiana's most high-profile jail breaks in decades. groves was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder when he escaped and rock legend jean simmons is recovering tonight after a car crash in malibu police saying the kiss band member told deputies he passed out or fainted before careing across several lanes on the pacific coast highway and hit a parked car he was sent to the hospital to get checked out simmons posting on x thanking his fans for their well wishes and saying quote i had a slight fender bender it happens especially to those of us who were horrible drivers, and that's me.

And police releasing body cam video from a tense water rescue in Florida, but the real hero was the victim's teenage brother. She's in the water? You can hear the frantic moments as police arrived on scene over reports of a missing five-year-old. the deputy racing together before realizing she was already saved by her 17-year-old brother. That's him chest deep in the water, holding his sister above the surface. Both were able to make it out safely. And country music superstar Zach Bryan is speaking out after his lyrics about ICE sparked criticism from some of his fans in the Trump administration. But Brian says his words were misconstrued. Here's NBC's Savannah Sellers.

Tonight, country superstar Zach Bryan responding to backlash from the Trump administration over these new lyrics appearing to criticize ICE. And ice is going to come busts down here in door. I'm trying to build a house. No one bills no more. But I got a telephone. Kids are all scared and all alone. Brian posting on Instagram. This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything.

When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits both. sides of the aisle. Brian released just a snippet of the new song last week, but says he wrote it months ago. It quickly sparked anger from the Trump administration, with Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem weighing in. I hope he understands how completely disrespectful that song is, not just to law enforcement, but to this country, to every single individual that has ever stood up and fought for our freedoms. DHS also appeared to troll Brian, posting this video of ICE in action.

set to one of his songs. Brian has a massive following, recently breaking the record for the largest concert audience ever in the U.S. 99% of the people that come out and see you and support you are patriots that support ICE and what they're doing. Why would you write a song anti-ice? It's just nice to hear him talk about issues that are going on right now in the country. A U.S. Navy veteran said in his statement, he doesn't consider himself left-wing or right-wing.

Adding the controversy proves how devastatingly divided we all are. Now, there's a story about women from across the country speaking out about a California fertility clinic, which they say fails to pay for egg donations. Here's NBC Bay Area investigative reporter Hilda Gutierrez. My name is Dr. Daniel Lane, and I am a fertility expert. Dr. Daniel Lane is prolific on social media, with more than 100,000. thousand followers. Her website boasts that her fertility institute based in San Francisco provides some of the

highest outcomes and fertility rates available to patients. And we always need more eggs. Her videos on social media promising big money to young women for donations. You're telling me you don't think your eggs are worth $10,000? That's five months rent. That's a trip to the Maldives. Enticed, Kailen Becker became an egg donor three years ago

after someone close to her faced infertility. They ask you about like your GPA, like if you have any special talents, like your health history, all sorts of stuff to see if you qualify for being an egg donor. Her third donation with Dr. Lane, the 21-year-old student says she signed an agreement promising a $6,000 payment within 90 days of her post-donation follow-up visit. But eight months later, after she last donated, she was still waiting. I'm struggling to get in contact with Dr. Lane. And when I do get in contact with her, it's just her saying, we'll pay you later. We spoke to a dozen women on and off camera who found themselves in similar situations. Several saying they were paid only after threatening legal action.

There is always an excuse. Egweiss, an agency that referred donors to Dr. Lane, says they have cut ties with her because of her track record. She always has something to say somebody else to blame about compensation or payments. Our investigation found that in recent, years, Dr. Lane has been sued at least 10 times for non-payment or breach of contract and not just by her patients, but also a former employee, vendors and even her landlord, who, according to a complaint, is actively trying to evict her for months of unpaid rent. In court filings, Lane denied most of the accusations against her.

Dr. Lane did not respond to her multiple attempts to reach her, but we found at least six judgments against Dr. Lane in three settlements with no admission of guilt. Yes, I get to take care of patients. Dr. Lane, still on social media, is now also listed as a medical consultant with a clinic called Conception Fertility. Aid donation is supposed to be something that's super, like, fulfilling. Kailen says after months of waiting and multiple demand letters, only after NBC News contacted Dr. Lane's office that she received the payment she was owed. They're helping families achieve their dream of having a child. It's a special process, and I want to protect. women and have them be informed because I wasn't.

Hilda Gutierrez, NBC News, San Francisco. All right, still ahead. Your brain on TikTok, why it's so hard to stop scrolling and what you can do to help break the habit. Plus, a wild rescue in Brazil, police saving a wounded jaguar from a river. Tom Yamas picks up our coverage right after a very quick break. On the top story's global watch, we start in Myanmar, where at least 24 people are dead and more than 50 others hurt after the country's military carried out a paraglider attack during a Buddhist festival.

That, according to media reports, villagers and a member of a resistance group, the strike happening at around 100 people gathered at a school for a candlelight ceremony. They were marking the end of Buddhist lent and calling for the release of political prisoners held by Myanmar's government. The country's military has not publicly acknowledged that attack yet. And new video out of Japan showing a car that crashed and ended up in the middle of a supermarket. The vehicle apparently falling from a rooftop parking lot, going down the stairs and into the store, and landing in the produce section. Police say the driver likely stepped on the accelerator instead of hitting the brake. We're told the 74-year-old driver was taken in the hospital, but luckily, nobody was seriously hurt. And in Brazil, incredible video as a wounded jaguar is rescued from a river.

take a look at this. You can see that animal swimming to the police boat, even latching onto a flotation device, the team pulling the jaguar in the water before bringing it on board. Local reports say the animal suffered from gunshot wounds. The jaguar is now being treated by a vet. All right, now to your brain on TikTok. The Washington Post out with striking new data after tracking the habits of 800 TikTok users. They looked into how TikTok keeps its users scrolling for hours and hours each day. Finding users that spent about 30 minutes on TikTok per day nearly doubled their time scrolling one month later. I want to bring in one of the journalists behind that reporting. Caitlin, is a data reporter for the Washington Post. Kately, thanks so much for

being here on Top Story. All right, so the TikTok algorithm is kind of a mystery, if you will, right? We don't really know how it's serving up these videos to users, but a key part of is why the app is so addictive. It's designed to keep you swiping, right? That's right, Tom. Yeah. Yeah, so the app when you first open it is extremely simple to use. You're immediately sort of immersed in this video feed, the For You page. And really, the only thing you have to do to keep seeing videos is to swipe. Right. And experts told me that that simplicity is really wonderful for keeping users engaged.

But at the same time, you're also giving up a lot of agency. So there's no list of topics to choose from. There's no prompt to ask you what you want to see. You're completely kind of at the whims of the algorithm. Yeah. And then what is this? Like, it's jackpot, why? Could you just keep you stay on it?

Yeah, exactly. So some psychologists compare that swipe action to like pulling the lever on a slot. Ah, I got it. Okay, that all makes sense now. Okay, so next up here. So like you look not only into the time spent, but also specific videos, right? That TikTok wants you, or I should say serves up to you. And the ones that power users consistently use, what did you find?

Yeah, so we looked at two groups of users, sort of casual users on the app, and then also power users who are spending sometimes four plus hours per day on TikTok. And we found sort of the start of our experiment that the casual users tend to see very broadly appealing content, so stuff like music content, whereas the power users who had been sort of on the app for hours at a time, we're seeing content that was native to TikTok, so storytime content, people talking about sort of personal experiences. Okay, and then in addition to being a journalist, you're also, you have a PhD in neuroscience, which is pretty incredible. walk our viewers, and this is like why we're doing this segment here, this is pretty incredible, walk our viewers through what you guys find on how these TikToks basically get people

addicted. Sure, so essentially when you are watching personalized content on TikTok videos, your brain's reward system is much more activated than it would have been if you're watching non-personalized videos. And so what that means is your brain is being flooded more with dopamine. And at the same time, this network of brain regions called the default mode network is also being engaged. And this is involved in things like attention, reduced self-control, also linked to some substance use disorders as well. And so this is all creating this really strong feedback loop. You know, I do want to ask you, I use the word addiction.

Is it fair to use that word? Is it alleged addictions? Like, how would you describe it? So I think it's tricky to say person-to-person, right? People could be using it without having a clinical addiction. But a lot of the same sort of pathways that are engaged in the brain are also engaged in classic sort of addictive behaviors. Interesting.

And then TikTok says it has systems in place, right, to help users manage their content use, including those break reminder videos. What are some tips users can do to take back control of their time on TikTok? Yeah, so there are these screen time kind of options available from TikTok and then also the phone itself. You can always use that. If that doesn't work, you can also download some third-party apps. And again, this is something in the settings you can find in your phone? You can find it. Every phone setting will have a screen time app.

Got it. Control. TikTok has its own. But it would essentially be a notification when you hit a time point. You might need to have a kind of more formal block to completely remove access to the app itself. You can turn off notifications. Those are a common way to bring you back into the app. You can also just delete the app itself from your phone.

So a lot of users we talked to said that worked really well. They only use it on an iPad or a computer. And then really importantly, to use the app actively to have a reason why you're spending so much time on TikTok, right? It's not great if you're just passively sort of scrolling or scrolling out of board. shopping, looking for information for a trip, something like that you're saying. Have a cool. All right. Caitlin, thanks so much for being here real quick before you go.

What do you like better? Neuroscience or journalism? Right now, journalism. All right. Anyways, thanks so much for being it. Really cool. When we come back, Dolly Parton speaking out about mounting concerns about her health, what the country music superstar said to shut down the swirling rumors in typical Dolly fashion.

And Rolling Stone naming the 250 best songs of the 21st century, can you guess what made the top five that reveal after the break? We're back now in Top Story's Record Room. It's a big day for modern music. Rolling Stone naming the 250 greatest songs of the 21st century so far, and it's quite the list. Joining us tonight is one of the masterminds behind it all, Christian Horde. He's Rolling Stone's executive music editor. Christian, thanks so much for being on Top Story tonight.

Thanks for having me. First of all, how fun or how stressful was putting together this list. I would say it was both fun and stressful. We have an incredibly talented team of writers and editors at Rolling Stone, and we all kind of got together and hashed out the list, argued over music, met like 10 times. We had at one point like 500, 600 songs we were considering, and we whittled it down from there. So let me ask you, do you guys play the songs back, or do you guys just kind of like talk about them or remember them? How does that work? A little of both.

I mean, everyone on staff made their own individual list, and that was kind of a starting point. And then we just kind of argued from there. And, you know, no right answers, but I hope we have a cool list. Yeah, you guys do have a very cool list. And if anything, it's fun to talk about with your friends who you love music and who you grew up listening to music with. We don't have time for all 250. That would be a very cool show. You guys should think about doing a podcast about it.

That would be amazing. That's good. But I do want to ask you about the top five, okay? So let's start out with number five here. We haven't been able to escape her this week. Taylor Swift, and I mean, Swifties are going to have a lot of thoughts and sort of arguments and debates about this one. Here it is for you. about on the other side.

All right, so tell me about this, because this is a tough one American artist named Teller Swift. Not sure if you guys have heard of her. Anyway, no. Biggest artist in the world right now. This is a really interesting song in that it came out on the album Red in 2012 and was not a hit, was not even a single. She didn't play it live for a number of years because it was.

so personal, and it took on this life as like a fan favorite. She put it out on Red Taylor's version in 2021, and then it became a number one hit, the longest number one hit of all time, longer than American Pie, even. So, yeah, really, really interesting journey. And how does this conversation happen, right? Like, do people have strong opinions about this one song? Because I could come into this meeting and say, hey, listen, my favorite Taylor Swift song is, say, Willow, and it's a beautiful song, and how does it go from there? Yeah, a lot of staffers have strong opinions on Taylor Swifties. We've got a lot of Swifties. I feel like there's a weird consensus around this song, though. That's great. Yeah. That's cool that it could unite you guys as well. All right, number four,

let's talk about this one here. The White Stripes, one of my favorite bands of all time. Let's listen to this one. I'm going to fight them off. A Seven Nation Army couldn't hold me bad. They're going to rip it off. Oh, Seven Nation Army, such a good song. It's become a stadium anthem. And you know that you're in good with Queen and ACDC and so many other groups when you have a stadium anthem song. This song, all ages still love it.

My son is eight years old. We were listening to this yesterday at the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. A great song. And was this a consensus or was there debate too? Hard to argue with this one. One of the all-time great riffs, I think. Right, I agree. It became a stadium anthem.

Like, you know, it's shocking how big that has become across the sports world, too. It started to this cool garage rock song and you hear it at college football games. Pretty undeniable. And I love that you have a band that came up in the late 90s, early aughts, exploded in popularity, and we're going to have another one coming up soon, but I love that you included them as well. Okay, here we go. Number three, The Beehive, buzzing. Glad that Beyonce made it.

Here's the one you guys selected. So look, Beyonce has put out some of her best music also, I would argue, over the last five years, right? This is a great song, don't get me wrong, but incredible, incredible albums as well. How did you guys land on this one? Yeah, Beyonce is all over this list. She has, I think, four or five songs total, maybe the most important artist of the 21st century. You know, this was her first big solo hit. This was the song that announced Beyonce, the solo artist after Destiny's Child, and everything flowed from that.

You know, I'm getting the sense that you guys thought about the music. about lyrics and rhythm, but you also thought about backstory. Is that fair? Yeah, for sure, for sure. I mean, the main criteria was musical brilliance. A lot of these songs are very popular. Some of them are super obscure, though, you know, and like, you know, we wanted something that felt like it had impact, like it was special and timeless, you know? The songs are really all of them now. Speaking of that, I think this one's going to surprise a lot of people. Coming in hot at number two, the yeah, yeah, yeah. I love this song. I was shocked. It was so high in the list. Let's listen.

They don't love me like I love you. I would say eclectic. They don't love me like I love you. So the Yay Yay Yes, again, I would say eclectic, not for everyone, but they were very popular for a time. They were sampled a lot. EDM got into Yeah Yeah's as well. Talk to me about this song and how it made it. The song is so awesome.

I remember the fall of 2001 being at a small club, not long gone, called Brownies in New York. Oh, I remember that. You remember brownies? Okay. Yeah, I got beer flung on me by Carineau, the front one of Yayas. It wasn't just me, it was the whole front row. They had this scrappy art punk beginning, and then a couple years later, they turned in this all-time incredible song. It kind of, it hits like a power ballad almost, but it has this punk feel to it, and it's so emotional, it's so powerful. I think this was like an easy choice for the stuff. Coming up in that same era as the White Stripes, the Strokes and others,

the Yeah, yeah, yeah, sort of define themselves. I really think, even though they were sort of grouped in with those other bands, they were sort of by themselves, right? They had a very unique sound. I think starting in Brooklyn, I don't know if I'm 100% right about that, but coming up, a great song, so talented. And I love, you know, I love this list. It can lead to conversations like this if you love music. We can't go, Christian, without talking about number one. Let's do it. No, and I'm going to let you take it away. I'm going to let you throw to the clip. Tell me, tell me about this. Set it up and then toss it. Okay, we got Get Your Freak on by Missy Elliott. What is Not to Like? I mean, come on. It was a big hit. It was all over the

radio, it's a banger, it's a party star. It is incredibly innovative. Back when this came out in 2001, there was nothing on the radio that sounded like it, and there's still kind of nothing on the radio that sounds like it. Let's remind our viewers for those who don't remember. You know what? You defined it perfectly by saying, if you're at a party and you play this, people will just start dancing. And that is true. You can't say that with every song,

but this song, regardless of what kind of music you like, you're definitely on the dance floor. Missy, L.A., great videos that she put out with this song as well. And yeah, a banger, but I gotta say, this one's also probably controversial. I'm sure you guys are hearing about it. Slightly, I mean,

Missy is awesome, one of the greatest rappers of all time. I think this song is a mix of musical awesomeness and innovativeness. Like, you know, it had Punjabi Bangra on there. Again, it didn't sound like anything else that was on pop radio at the time. Very singular, I agree. Very singular. So, you know, we all felt really good about this choice.

Christian, I'm so excited. This conversation is so great. I'm going to log on to Rollingstone.com now to check out the list, 250 greatest songs of the 21st century. Take a trip back in time. Listen to some great music, Christian, again. Thank you for being here. Thanks so much for having me.

Yeah. Finally, today, country music legend, Dolly Parton, telling the world that she, quote, ain't dead yet. After concerns about her health began to mount following a post by one of of her sisters asking for prayers. NBC's Chloe Malas has the new video from Dolly. I wanted you to know that I'm not dying. Tonight, Dolly Parton's setting the record straight. There's just a lot of rumors flying around, but I figured if you heard it from me, you'd know that I was okay. So anyhow, that's what I wanted to say, and I'm not ready to die yet.

79-year-old Barton posting this video addressing rumors about her health. The caption, I ain't dead yet. Do I look sick to you? I'm working hard here. The furor following a Tuesday post from her sister Frida, asking fans to pray for Dolly. Hours later, Frida clarifying her comments saying she didn't mean to scare anyone and that Dolly had been a little under the weather. Parton's health recently came into question after she postponed a series of Vegas concert set for

December, citing unspecified health. challenges and a need to slow down. Everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am. In her video, Parton explained how she didn't care for herself following the death of her husband in March. The doctor said, we need to take care of this. We need to take care of that. Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, you know, where I'm kind of having a few treatments here and there. And just like in her 1980 hit single 9 to 5. Parton says she still got a lot of living left to do. I don't think God is through with me and I ain't done working. So I love you for caring

and keep praying for me. Tom, I think the best part of Dolly's video is the fact that she was on set filming promos for the Grand Ole Opry. This woman, she really lives up to her 9 to 5 reputation or let's be honest. She works more than 9 to 5. But again, she has a lot of runway, left in front of her. Tom? All right, we thank Chloe for that story, and we thank you for watching Top Story tonight. I'm Tom Yamerson, New York. Stay right there.

More news on the way.